Made in Germany
ARGELITH TILES
Argelith Bodenkeramik is the only specialist in the world to focus exclusively on the production of porcelain stoneware tiles for the industry. Our products proudly bear the “Made in Germany” seal.
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Bildergalerie Technik -
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Argelith Produktion -
Argelith Produktion
GENEROUSLY LAID OUT, METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED AND CONSTANTLY REFINED
The in-house processing plant produces the valuable spray granulate from just 6 raw materials – but in more than 100 complex production steps. The foundation stone of the undisputed Argelith quality is laid from the inspection of the raw material delivery to the strictly monitored grain size after the grinding process, the mixing of the slurry in various underground basins over several days and the spraying process itself.
Just as the quality of a cheese or bread dough matured at rest differs from that of one produced in a rapid process, the elaborate homogenization of the individual raw material components ensures the enormous Argelith colour stability over large areas. The spray granulate is shaped on one of our 5 high-performance presses using the dry pressing process, which ensures the dimensional accuracy of each individual tile with a maximum deviation of 0.5 mm. The various products – rectangular, hexagonal Hexalith® or large format – are fed fully automatically to the coating booth via the different lines. This is where the mv-tec® sealant, which was co-developed especially for and by Argelith is applied. Attentive employees, additional special cameras and alarm systems ensure that the coating is applied completely and evenly. All blanks with the slightest defect are sorted out at this production stage and run through the production process again. On the one hand, this procedure is a milestone in Argelith’s globally recognized quality and, on the other, it conserves resources.
FIRING PROCESS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
The tempering process is followed by drying in order to remove the residual moisture from the blanks in a drying process lasting around one hour and thus prepare them for the firing process. After drying, the tiles are fed into one of the 2 existing roller kilns. Depending on the product thickness – whether 15 or 18 mm – and color – whether light grey, red or anthracite, for example – the tiles are fired for 75-90 minutes at over 1,200 degrees using a specially adapted firing curve.
The firing is followed by random checks by the kiln masters and then the final inspection. Despite the numerous prior interim inspections, errors can still occur during the firing process that prevent the final inspection from being passed. In addition to our experienced employees, who inspect the tiles under special lighting, additional special cameras look at each individual tile.
The Flawmaster® detects differences in caliber and tonality that cannot be seen with the naked eye during the production process – i.e. when the individual tiles are not installed together – and sorts them into different caliber and tonality classes. This step also represents a considerable effort for the company, but gives the customer the security of purchasing a truly first-class product. Incidentally, it is not without reason that the vast majority of installers opt for Argelith tiles. The high tonality and caliber fidelity reduce the amount of work involved in installation and the end result simply looks better.
And yet: ceramic is and remains a natural product. That’s what makes it so great! Despite all the meticulousness, slight color nuances cannot be ruled out. After all, mineral raw materials are used instead of chemicals. Classification in a RAL color scale is not possible – but the ceramic retains its color forever once it has taken on it. It does not smell, does not fade, does not evaporate and does not darken. With good care, it even becomes more beautiful over the years!
SURFACE TREATMENT MV-TEC®
The surface and material technology stands for micro-compacted technology and reflects our high-quality raw material preparation, finely ground raw materials of high quality and surface coating. Other important factors are the compacting pressing, the special drying of the slurry, the special granulometry, the temperature during the firing process and, last but not least, the continuous quality control. In this way, we guarantee continuous micro-compaction of our porcelain stoneware tiles. It is important to note that we use a coating to protect the tiles from external influences such as abrasion or chemicals. This is not a glaze! Technical values can be found in the current test certificates or can be requested individually for a building project if required.